Gas Crisis of 1975 will be here in the Summer

[TurboJunky]

Glad I drive a diesel. Did I mention diesel fuel is rock steady at $1.58 a gallon?

Isn't it pretty much the same as kerosene and/or jet fuel??

 

[chevyII]

alot of statments are good and some false. OPEC controls most oil production. They control the supply and demand by how many barrels the pump to keep the price right. Then it gets shipped over to the refineries where they have additives and special blends mandated by our government. But we also create problems ourselves. In the midwest during the start of the war on every TV and radio everyone saying gas shortage. Just like robots most flocked to the pumps and filled at near 5.00 a gal prices,four days latter it was right back where it started. Dont believe the hype.

 

[Oldsguy]

ttt, just so you know I know this one is dead
$5.00 a gal??? I've _never_ seen it go that high...about the highest I've seen was what I just paid for gas today, $1.89 for regular.
Apparantly, about hydrogen, it's highly flammable and unstable, also hard to keep in a tank (ie, if it leaks, you're dead.) I've also been told that it takes more energy to isolate hydrogen (and pollute) than to refine and burn gasoline, so we're back where we started. Hydrogen is just not feasable right now, and it won't be for at least 25 more years.
I firmly believe that diesel is the replacement for gasoline. In the next 5-10 years, every company is gonna figure out how to make a cost-effective diesel that burns clean and runs quiet (The powerstroke is a work of art, if only they could fit it under the hood of a Crown Vic!). They've already been doing it for years in Europe.
I think GM and to a lesser extent, Ford, still remembers their wounds from the 80s disasters when they attempted to make a passenger car diesel engine (though I'll tell you, that Olds diesel is pretty reliable if you take care of it!!). Watch, it will happen. Electric, hydrogen, solar...that's damn stupid stuff, and nobody will buy them for a _long_ time. But I think a diesel could be successfully marketed.

 

[norbs]

diesel stinks, i follow diesel trucks all day, dont burn clean 80% of the big rigs on the road. I am glad they are fining them on emssion blitz's

 

[ThikStik]

Please, can anyone tell me how many differing formulations there are for EPA Summer gas. Im trying to get an op -ed written in my local liberal rag paper.
TIA-Sephia

 

[88 CuttyClassic]

Isn't it true we haven't built a new refinery in this country in 30 years?

regardless of what happends i have my locking gas cap. No one is stealing my gas.

 

[TurboJunky]

Well, waddaya know... Diesel around here is back down to $1.58 a gallon, not bad. Long live the Duramax!

 

[SinistrV6]

Originally posted by 88 CuttyClassic
Isn't it true we haven't built a new refinery in this country in 30 years?

And never will again. The EPA and DEQ have made it far too cost inhibitive.

Originally posted by The Blob
Everyone thinks the oil companies raise their prices every summer for the "driving season". In fact, that is due to the EPA mandated use of summer formulation gas in many parts on the country. Come winter, same thing... switch back to winter gas. So twice a year the refineries have to convert to making a different product. That is an expense that naturally gets passed on to the consumer. But it's more fun to think the oil companies are raising prices just because they can.

Correct, Sir. Except it's at least 4 different blend (Summer, Transition, Winter, Intermediate). Even more in states (CA) that require "Reformulted Gasoline". At our refinery (ChevronTexaco) we also have "Atlanta" and "Florida" blends. Oil companies have precious little control over the price of the final product because they have NO control over the raw material (crude oil).

 

[Little6pack]

Wouldn't this be called Gas crisis of 2004??

Cause if it is gonna be 1975 again I am going out to buy all that cheap real estate

 

[ThikStik]

Hey Sinv6,
What is DEQ? Do you know how many blends ALabama has?
Thanks

 

[SinistrV6]

DEQ = Dept. of Environmental Quality

AL has only the 4 blends mentioned above, to the best of my knowledge. We supply a large portion of Alabama's gasoline and that's all we make.

 

[TURBO 6]

The last refinery built in the US is in Belle Chase, La. The newest refinery put in production is Valero in La. It was shut down in the early 80's and started back up in the late 90's.
I don't think another refinery will be built in the US anytime soon.
I don't mind the higer gas prices because my bonus is a calculation from that. I know it sucks for everybody else.

 

[dhauser]

Originally posted by TURBO 6
I don't mind the higer gas prices because my bonus is a calculation from that. I know it sucks for everybody else.

Well, what that tells me is that there is certainly a concerted effort on the part of Big Oil to keep gas prices as high as they possibly can. If they can tie cash bonuses to the price of gasoline, or to the gross profits of such, then there is obviously a plan in place "to achieve" these ends.

I simply don't believe the argument that Big Oil doesn't have some control over the price of gasoline. Is it REALLY just a coincidence that they've reaped the greatest profits in the history of the industry since George Bush and "HeartAttack-athon" Cheney, both well-invested oil men, have been in office? Hmmmmmm....

I'm sure it's just a coinky dink.

 

[ThikStik]

I say the EPA/Gov tampering have had unentended consequences in that fact that their rules have run out the smaller refineries actually helped cause a monopoly So that in the end, Big Oil actually likes it . It is weird that they never inform the public at their daunting task of producing these blends. But of course no companies wants to be known as "brown" (dirty).

This all is analogous to the effect CAFE and clean air acts had over time to the auto market. Everyone bought trucks.suv's instead of the smaller cars. Of course cars are now powerful again and the truck thing is more of an identity/band wagon mentality.

 

[TURBO 6]

It all goes off supply and demand. Right now the demand is high. It happens every summer. Maybe not this high. Opec also controls the price. I don't blame Big Oil. Without Big Oil you would have to walk to work.
Any of you have an idea how much it cost to refine Crude Oil? Refineries don't make as much as you think after it's all said and done.
As far as the bonus thing goes I say it's because I work for number 34 out of the top 100 companies to work for.